Reader's Guide

Thursday, June 18, 2009

One of the nice things about living in a city is that a car is not an absolute necessity. And it is often true that, the bigger the city is, the more likely it is to have decent public transit. Tokyo is a prime example of clean, reliable and not terribly expensive train, subway and bus service. Even Boise, which is not very big as state capitals go, has a decent bus network (no trains or subways), and people with disabilities that limit their ability to get around can call for transport when they need it. There was a time, not a century ago, when many other U.S. cities had good public transit, and even my little hometown of Marion, Indiana, was joined to other Hoosier cities by a really cool interurban rail network, as well as the Big Four railroads that joined bigger cities like Indianapolis, Chicago, St. Louis and all points between and beyond. Gradually, people who preferred the suburbs bought into the Detroit scheme of individual car ownership, buses replaced trolleys and the interurban, trucks replaced railroads. Before long after World War II, there were more cars than people, and we're stuck with that imbalance today. I've owned cars, and I could appreciate the convenience of being able to go about anywhere, any time. At the same time, convenience comes at a price. Gasoline and alternative fossil fuels are expensive. More environmentally rational ways to power a car may be cheaper, but there is still the cost of insurance, maintenance, finding a parking place, and eventually replacement. In the half-dozen years I have been on foot, I have come to appreciate being without a car for more reasons than cost, environmental awareness and comfort. I can get exactly where I want to go with a combination of public transportation and footwork. Along the way, I can literally stop and smell the roses, watch the geese fly, the ducks swim and the woodpeckers peck. There is supposedly health merit in walking or riding a bike, too. I am still overweight, but I feel better, because walking and even "townie" biking (not the Speedo-wearing skinny-tire kind) help improve circulation and lung capacity. So I can feel better in the sense that without a car, I am doing my little part to use less fossil fuel and thus reduce pollution. And I can feel better just by the act of hoofing it or riding, or even using public transport, because I can enjoy the scenery, take time and regain a kind of balance with the rest of the world--the part that can do without driving. That's pretty cool.

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Great Thoughts of the Moment

"Arguing with a zealot is only slightly easier than tunneling through a mountain with your forehead."

"You can live for many causes, but you can only die for one. Pick that one very carefully."

"Hard work pays off in the future; laziness pays off now."

"Hyenas laugh becasue they know what's coming next."

"When I was 5 years old my mom told me the key to life is happiness. When I went to school they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I wrote down "Happy". They told me I didn't understand the assignment and I told them they didnt understand life."

"Gun control is being able to hit your target."

"Going to church, temple, mosque or synagogue doesn't make you religious any more than standing in a garage makes you a car."

"Some people are alive today only because it's illegal to shoot them."

"The only substitute for good manners is fast reflexes."

"Never take yourself too seriously, and mock those who do."

"Last night I lay in bed looking up at the stars in the sky and I thought to myself, where the heck is the ceiling. "

"When cryptography is outlawed, bayl bhgynjf jvyy unir cevinpl. "

``Build a man a fire and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.''

"Sacred cows make the best hamburger. "

"I think animal testing is a terrible idea; they get all nervous and give the wrong answers. "

"Procrastination gives you something to look forward to."

"A great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices"

"It takes 46 muscles to frown but only four to flip 'em the bird."

"Even the fear of death is nothing compared to the fear of not having lived authentically and fully."

"Everyone needs to believe in something. I believe I'll have another beer. "

''Sharing food with another human being is an intimate act that should not be indulged in lightly."

"Imagination is more important than knowledge."

''The eye sees a thing more clearly in dreams than the imagination awake.''

"Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm."

"The fisherman knows that the sea is dangerous and the storm terrible, but they have never found these dangers sufficient reason for remaining ashore.'' (Vincent Van Gogh)"